Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – new RPG from EA and 38 Studios

Electronic Arts and 38 Studios announce Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. It’s an epic, open-world RPG set in Amalur, a magical world created by best-selling American fantasy novelist R. A. Salvatore (Forgotten Realms, The DemonWars) with Canadian comic book artist Todd McFarlane (Spawn) adding his “trademark visceral style” to the visuals.

The development is being led by Ken Rolston, the man behind Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivions; both of which are essential RPG titles famed for their huge scale. Reckoning will feature all the key trademarks from the above games (open-world exploration, a vast narrative and character customization) but Rolston believes his team have added a new edge to the genre:

“We’ve added something new that we’ve always wanted from the genre — a fast-paced, graphically stimulating action combat experience with fluid control and immersive, discoverable gameplay fans haven’t seen before in other fantasy RPGs.”

Reckoning is a single-player RPG that has you travel across strange landscapes and exotic lands, and meet colourful characters and terrifying creatures. That sounds like your typical RPG fare, but the promise of direct stimulating gameplay and an interested world for us to explore does gives us a reason to get excited.

“Reckoning is a great representation of how a team of incredibly talented and creative people with expertise in different areas can come together and complement each other so well. We are thrilled to be developing an open-world RPG under the leadership of one of the greatest RPG designers in the industry, with creative direction by one of the most iconic artists of our time, set in a rich universe imagined by one of the top fantasy genre authors in the world. We can’t wait to share the first details of this universe we have been so dedicated to building over the past few years.” Jen MacLean, CEO of 38 Studios

The first footage of the game will be shown this Thursday at International Comic-Con in San Diego. McFarland, Rolston and Salvatore, along with Curt Schilling, founder and chairman of 38 Studios, will also be at the event to discuss the game. So we’ll know much more about Reckoning very soon.